18/10/2012 03:24 Etiquettes of Ziyaarah - Islamic Network

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The Islamic Network - www.islaam.net
Thursday, 2 Dhu 'l -Hijjah 1433 AH / 18th October 2012 CE
Etiquettes of Ziyaarah
by Salh al-Budayr
Dhul-Qadah 25, 1422 (February 8, 2002)
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the Worlds. May peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Prophet, his household
and companions. O you brethren in faith, the visitors of the Prophets city! I wish you a happy stay and I pray that Allah
accepts all your good deeds and make you achieve your goals.
O you visitors! You are in a city next only to Makkah in sacredness. Give the city therefore, its due regard, respect its
sacredness and be of good manners while you are here. Know that Allaah has threatened whoever causes innovations
and sins in this city with the most severe punishment.
The Messenger of Allah said,

Al-Madeenah is a sanctuary between the mountains of Ayr and Thawr. Whoever causes an innovation
there or harbours an innovator, the curse of Allaah as well as that of His Angels and all people will be on
him and Allaah will not accept of him any good deed. (Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim).
Whoever commits a sin, harbours a sinner or protects him has exposed himself to a disgraced torment and Allaahs wrath.
Among the greatest acts of sins in Madeenah is to disrupt its peace by spreading innovations and superstitions and
polluting it with bidah and shirk speeches and publications and all that negates Islaam.
Dear visitor! You must know the rules of visiting the Prophets Mosque. Here are instructions pertaining to visiting the
Prophets Mosque and City derived from the Quran and Sunnah, for it is with the Quraan and Sunnah that a Muslim can
protect himself against error, ignorance and innovative words and deeds.
Visiting the Prophets mosque is a supererogatory act. It has nothing to do with hajj and all the hadeeths that are narrated
about its relationship to hajj are false and unauthentic. Whoever travels to Al-Madeenah to visit the Prophets Mosque and
prays there, his purpose is lawful and his effort will be appreciated by Allaah. But whoever intends to visit the graves only
and to seek the aid of the buried, his purpose is unlawful and his deed is blameworthy.
The Messenger of Allaah said.

No journey should be undertaken except to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque (at Makkah), this Mosque
of mine and Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Al-Bukharee & Muslim).
Brethren in Faith! Prayer in the Prophets Mosque in Al-Madeenah is manifold in reward.
The Messenger of Allaah said

A prayer in this mosque of mine is better in reward than a thousand prayers in other mosques except the
Sacred Mosque. (Al-Bukharee & Muslim)
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Sacred Mosque. (Al-Bukharee & Muslim)
It is only that observing voluntary prayers at home is better than observing them in the mosque even if it is manifold in
reward.
The Prophet said,

The best prayer a man performs after the obligatory prayer is the one he performs at home. (Al-
Bukhaaree & Muslim)
Dear visitor! It is not allowed to seek blessings in any part of the Prophets Mosque like its pillars, walls, doors or pulpit.
Rubbing hands on them and kissing them are not allowed as well. Also, the Prophets room should neither be rubbed with
hands or clothes nor be kissed and no one should circumambulate it, whoever does that should repent and never do that
again.
It is recommended for the visitor of the Prophets mosque to perform two rakahs or more in the Rawdah because of the
established reward regarding that.
The Messenger of Allah said

That which is between my house and my pulpit is one of the gardens of Paradise and the pulpit is above
my cistern. (Al-Bukhaaree & Muslim)
Desire to pray in the Rawdah, does not however justify attacking others, pushing them or stepping over their necks.
It is also recommended for the visitor of the Prophets City and its inhabitants to visit the Qubaa Mosque and pray there
following the example of the Prophet and in order to achieve the reward of Umrah.
The Messenger of Allaah said,

Whoever comes out of his house to this mosque the Qubaa Mosque and prays there, he will have the
reward of a Umrah. (Ahmad).
It is also reported in Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim that the Messenger of Allaah would come to Qubaa mosque every
Saturday riding or walking and would perform there two rakahs.
Dear visitor! It is not recommended to visit any other mosque in Al-Madeenah besides those two mosques: the Prophets
Mosque and Qubaa Mosque. One should also not visit any place for the purpose of supplication or any other acts of
worship while Islaam has not recommended that. One should also not seek after places and mosques where the
Messenger of Allaah or his companions have prayed in order to pray or supplicate there when the Prophet has not
recommended or encouraged its visit.
Al-Maroor bin Suwayd said,

We went out with Umar and came by a mosque on our way. Some people hastened to the mosque and prayed there.
Umar asked: What are these people doing? They answered, This is a mosque where the Messenger of Allaah has
prayed. Umar then said, O you people! Those who were before you were ruined because they followed what is similar to
this until they made out of it churches. Let him who wants to perform prayer do so and let him who does not move away.
(Ibn Abee Shaybah)
When Umar noticed that people frequently visited the tree under which the Prophet was given the allegiance, he ordered
it to be cut. (Ibn Abee Shaybah)
Fellow Muslims! It is recommended for the male visitors of the Prophets mosque to visit the grave of the Messenger of
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Fellow Muslims! It is recommended for the male visitors of the Prophets mosque to visit the grave of the Messenger of
Allaah and those of Abu Bakr and Umar in order to greet them and supplicate for them. Women, on their part, are not
allowed to visit the graves. Ibn Abbaas narrated that the Messenger of Allah cursed the women who visit graves and
those who erect mosques and lights on them. (At-Tirmidhee)
As regards manner of visiting, the visitor will face the grave and say, Assalaamu alayka yaa rasoolallaah, (Peace be on
you O Messenger of Allaah). He will then slightly move to the right and say, Assalaam alayka yaa Abaa Bakr, (Peace be
on you O Abu Bakr), he will then move forward a little to the right and say, Assalaamu alayka yaa Umar. The visitor
should beware lest he fall into any of the following violations:
One: Invoking the Messenger of Allah and asking him for aid, like saying, O Messenger of Allaah, cure my sick,
O Messenger of Allaah pay my debts, O my intercessor and other bidah and shirk sayings and deeds that
negate At-Tawheed.
Two: Standing in front of his grave and placing ones right hand on ones left on the chest or under chest as in the
prayer. That is forbidden, for such position is that of humbleness and worship that should be done to Allaah alone.
Three: Bowing or prostrating at the grave, for that should be done for Allaah alone. Qays bin Sad narrated:
I went to Heerah and I saw its people prostrating for their vicegerent and I said: The Messenger of Allaah is more
deserving to be prostrated for. So, I came to the Messenger of Allaah and said, I went to Heerah and I saw its
people prostrating for a vicegerent of theirs. But you, the Messenger of Allaah, more deserve to be prostrated for.
The Prophet said, Tell me, if you pass by my grave will you prostrate for it? I said No He then said, Then do not
do that. (Abu Daawood)
The Messenger of Allah also said,
It is not allowed for a human being to prostrate for another human being. (Ahmad)
Four: Invoking Allaah at the graves or believing that invocation made at the grave will be answered. This is
forbidden, for it leads to shirk. Had there been any merit for the invocation made at the Prophets grave, he would
have encouraged us to do so, for he has left nothing that brings one close to Paradise except that he has
encouraged his nation to do it.
Abu Yalaa and Al-Maqdisee reported that Alee bin Al-Husayn saw a man frequenting the grave of the Messenger
of Allaah. He forbade him to do that and said,
Let me tell you of a saying of the Prophet which I heard from my father who heard it from my grandfather that
goes thus, Do not make my grave a place for anniversary nor make your homes graves and ask blessings for me.
Your greetings will reach me wherever you are.
Five: Sending visitors with greetings to the Prophet and conveying this greeting. This is an act of bidah. It suffices
those who can not come to the Prophets Mosque his saying, Send blessings to me for your greeting will reach
me from wherever you are. He also said, There are some of Allaahs angels who tour the earth and convey the
greetings of my followers to me.
Six: A frequent visit to the Prophets grave like visiting it after every prayer or everyday after a particular prayer.
This act contradicts the command,
Do not make my grave a place for anniversary.
Ibn Hajar Al-Haythamee said,

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Ibn Hajar Al-Haythamee said,
It means: Do not make my grave a place to be frequented.
That is why the Prophet said,
And send your blessings to me. Your greetings will reach me from wherever you are.
Imaam Maalik was asked about a stranger who visits the Prophets grave everyday and he answered,
That is not right. He mentioned the hadeeth, O Lord, do not make my grave an idol to be worshipped. Al-Qaadee
Iyaad was asked about some people among the inhabitants of Al-Madeenah who would stand in front of the grave
once or more in a day greeting the Prophet and supplicating for a while. He answered, It has not reached me that
any of the people of knowledge and understanding has done that, and the latter generations of this community will
not be corrected except by that which corrected the first generation. It has not come to my knowledge that the first
generation of this community used to do that.
Seven: Facing his grave from all sides of the mosque whenever one enters the mosque or goes out of the mosque,
placing ones hands on ones chest and bowing ones head while greeting him. These are the most common acts of
bidah. Therefore, fear Allaah and refrain from these and others. Beware of following desires and blind imitation and
be on true knowledge and guidance as regards matters of your religion.
Allaah said,
Is he who is on clear proof from his Lord, like those for whom their evil deeds that they do are beautified for them,
while they follow their own lusts (evil desires)? (Muhammad 47: 14)
Brethren in faith! It is recommended for the male visitor of Al-Madeenah to visit the dwellers of Baqee Al-Gharqad and the
Martyrs of Uhud to greet them and supplicate for them.
The Messenger of Allaah used to teach his companions when they visited the graveyard to say,

Peace be unto you, O you dwellers of this abode of the Muslims and believers. We will certainly join you,
Insha Allaah. We ask Allaah to give us and you safety. (Muslim)
Visiting graves is recommended for two reasons:
1. For the purpose of reflection, lessons and as a reminder of the Hereafter.
2. In order to supplicate for its dwellers and to seek Allaahs forgiveness for them.
It is however compulsory while visiting the graveyards to desist from saying forbidden things.
The Messenger of Allaah said,

I used to forbid you from visiting graves, but let him who wants to visit them now do so, but do not say
sinful things (An-Nasaaee).
There should not be any circumambulation round those graves or others neither should there be prayers to them or
between them. One should also not erect structures on them.
The Prophet said,
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The worst among people are those upon whom the Hour will come while they are still alive and those
who take graves as mosques. (Ahmad)
He also said,
Do not sit on the graves nor pray towards them. (Muslim)
It is also not allowed to seek blessings from graves by rubbing hands on them or kissing them or seeking healing from its
soil or the like. Visitors to graveyards are also not allowed to bury anything of their hair, or handkerchief in the graveyard
or to put their photograph there. They should also not throw things like seeds or food there. Whoever does any of these,
should repent and never do that again.
Graves should also not be perfumed neither should one make them intercessor in ones invocation to Allaah. One should
also not take their pictures for that leads to shirk.
Invoking the dead in any form or for any purpose is a major act of associating partners with Allaah and that leads one out
of the fold of Islaam and makes one an idol worshipper.
Allaah says,

Such is Allaah your Lord; His is the Kingdom. And those whom
you invoke or call upon instead of Him own not even a thin
membrane over the date-stone. If you call them, they hear not your
call; and if in case they were to hear, they could not grant your
request to you. And on the Day of Resurrecting, they will disown
your worshipping them. And none can inform you like Him Who is
All-Knowing (of everything) (Al-Faatir 35:13-14)

Fear Allaah, dear brethren and beware of the deed of idol-worshippers and friends of Satan who adore graves and
abandon mosques. Seek refuge with Allaah during hardship and calamity and be patient.
Allaah says,

And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but Him.
And if He touches you with good, then He is able to do all things.
And He is Irresistible (Supreme) above His slaves and He is All-
Wise, Well Acquainted with all things. (Al-Anaam 6: 17-18)

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